1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a golf tee having a sheet substrate sandwiched between two halves and a method of manufacturing the same, and, more particularly, to a biodegradable golf tee comprising two transparent symmetrical tee halves sandwiching a sheet substrate having an advertisement or other indicia printed on one or both sides thereof, and wherein the printed advertisement or other indicia is visible through the transparent molded body of the tee.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Golf tees are typically manufactured from natural wood or any of a variety of plastic compositions. In the past, plastic golf tees were popular due to the ability to economically mass produce tees of consistent size and shape, without imperfections, using inexpensive material. However, the inability of plastic golf tees to disintegrate when discarded on the golf course has become a serious environmental concern. In fact, many golf courses now ban the use of tees formed of non-biodegradable material. For this reason, most golf tees sold in today""s market are formed of natural wood.
Over time, it has been discovered that golf tees provide a convenient medium for displaying an advertisement or other message promoting a business or product. The shank or stem portion of the golf tee, extending between the pointed distal tip and the head, is particularly ideal for displaying a trademark, slogan, business name and telephone number, Internet website address, or other message. Application of such indicia to the now predominantly used wood tees requires each wood tee to be individually hot stamped. This process of applying indicia to wood golf tees is performed as an independent process after the wood golf tees have been manufactured, and often by a company other than the tee manufacturer. This less than efficient process of individually hot stamping wood tees to apply advertisements or other promotional messages increases the overall cost per unit of the finished product.
In view of the foregoing problems associated with both plastic, non-biodegradable golf tees and wood tees, there remains an urgent need in the golf industry for a biodegradable golf tee which can be mass produced in an efficient injection molding process. Moreover, there remains a definite need in the golf industry for a biodegradable golf tee which has an advertisement or other indicia applied during a manufacturing process, thereby providing a disposable and environmentally friendly promotional product which is cost effective to manufacture.
The present invention is directed to a biodegradable golf tee which includes an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia displayed along the shank of the golf tee, between the distal tip and the head. The golf tee is manufactured in accordance with a unique injection molding process and includes a pair of symmetrical halves extending from the distal tip to the enlarged head, and a sheet substrate sandwiched between the tee halves. During the manufacturing process, the sheet substrate serves as a carrier or pallet to facilitate both the injection molding of the symmetrical tee halves on opposite sides of the sheet substrate and ejection of the sheet pallet and molded components from the mold. The sheet substrate, sandwiched between the tee halves, also provides an adhesion means between the sandwiched assembly, holding the opposing symmetrical tee halves on opposite sides of the thin sheet substrate to form an integral unit. To increase the bonding between each of the tee halves, a plurality of keys (i.e. rectangular openings) are pre-punched through the sheet substrate. This allows the molten plastic to pass through and fill within the rectangular holes during the injection molding process, thereby joining the two molded halves of the tee together as a integral one-piece unit.
Prior to molding, an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia is printed on one or both opposite faces of the sheet pallet. The printed copy is duplicated in accordance with a predetermined spaced arrangement to allow for multiple tee units to be molded on a single sheet. The pallet is then inserted between the mold components prior to the injection mold process so that the areas of the pallet bearing the printed advertisements are encapsulated between the respective opposing mold cavities for each tee unit. After molding, the pallet and attached molded tee halves drop from the injection mold, whereupon the entire pallet, with the molded tee halves on each side, is die cut and separated into individual golf tee units. The manufactured golf tee unit comprises the two symmetrical tee halves with the sheet substrate sandwiched therebetween, so that the advertising copy printed on the sheet substrate is visible through the clear plastic biodegradable material of the tee halves.
With the foregoing in mind, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a biodegradable golf tee which contains an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a biodegradable golf tee having an encapsulated sheet substrate for displaying an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a golf tee including a sheet substrate encapsulated within a clear biodegradable molded plastic material, and wherein the sheet substrate includes an advertisement, message or other indicia printed thereon which is visible through the clear material of the molded tee.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a golf tee formed of a clear biodegradable molded plastic material, and wherein the golf tee can be manufactured via a highly efficient injection molding process.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a golf tee formed through an injection mold process and including two symmetrical halves formed of a clear material and sandwiching a sheet substrate so that an advertisement, message, or other indicia printed on one or both sides of the sheet substrate is visible through the clear material of the molded tee.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved and highly efficient method of manufacturing a golf tee, wherein a sheet substrate serves as a pallet to facilitate the molding and ejection of the assembled tee components from the mold, and wherein the sheet substrate serves as a means for bonding the two molded symmetrical halves of the tee as an integral unit.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved method of manufacturing a golf tee, wherein an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia is efficiently and cost effectively printed on one or both of opposite sides of a sheet substrate, and further wherein the sheet substrate serves as a pallet to facilitate the molding of opposite, symmetrical halves of a tee to sandwich the sheet substrate therebetween, and wherein the printed advertisement, promotional message or other indicia is visible through the clear molded plastic tee halves.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved process for molding a golf tee which includes an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia, and wherein the process includes placing a sheet substrate between the opposing cavities of a multiple cavity mold to thereby facilitate molding of a plurality of tee units on opposite sides of a single sheet substrate, and wherein the individual tee units are separated from the sheet substrate by die cutting after the molding process.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a biodegradable golf tee which is suitable for advertising purposes and which is more cost effective and efficient to manufacture as compared to hot stamping conventional wood golf tees.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a improved and more cost efficient process for manufacturing a biodegradable golf tee which includes an advertisement, promotional message or other indicia.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent with reference to the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.